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Recommendation 1892 (2009)1

Contribution of the Council of Europe to
the development of the European Higher Education Area

1. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe underlines the importance of a European dimension in
higher education which will both foster understanding among
European peoples and provide better educational results,
responding more adequately to the demands of our time. In a
globalised, knowledge-based and interdependent world,
well-educated human resources are a key factor for social,
economic and democratic stability and welfare. Especially in
times of economic crisis, states must also invest in people
and their education.

2. The European Cultural Convention of 1954
(ETS No. 18), the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications
concerning Higher Education in the European Region of 1997
(ETS No. 165, hereinafter the Lisbon Recognition Convention)
and the fundamental right to education under Article 2 of the
first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS
No. 9) have set the legal framework for a European dimension
in higher education and constitute the basis for the Bologna
Process.

3. Recalling its
Recommendation 1620 (2003) on the Council of Europe
contribution to the higher education area, the Assembly
believes that the official launch of the European Higher
Education Area in 2010 requires greater support by member
states, national parliaments, institutions of higher education
and students. It also calls for more Council of Europe
involvement in developing the European Higher Education Area
by 2020 throughout Europe.

4. Recalling its
Recommendation 1762 (2006) on academic freedom and
university autonomy, the Assembly reaffirms its recommendation
to the Committee of Ministers that these principles be
recognised as fundamental freedoms throughout Europe
alongside, and equal to, the fundamental right to education.
Academic freedom and university autonomy have been essential
for the foundation of universities in Europe and the admission
of students from abroad for many centuries.

5. The Assembly emphasises the power of
national legislators to set the standards for higher education
in accordance with national traditions, circumstances and
requirements. The creation of the European Higher Education
Area requires the explicit and ongoing recognition and support
of parliaments, not just of potentially changing majority
governments and their administrative teams.

6. The Assembly welcomes the progress made
over the past decade by the states participating in the
Bologna Process in defining common policies for European
higher education. All of those states, bar the Holy See, are
member states of the Council of Europe and all are signatories
to these above-mentioned conventions, with the exception of
Greece, which has not yet signed the Lisbon Recognition
Convention.

7. The Bologna Process will become the
European Higher Education Area in 2010. The Assembly strongly
supports this transformation which constitutes a policy
objective of the highest importance for all states and people
in the European Higher Education Area. It requires the
consolidation of the existing achievements throughout Europe.
Non-member states of the European Union must not be left
behind. Quality assurance, the mutual recognition of diplomas
and other qualifications leading to admission to higher
education institutions as well as the mutual recognition of
study periods spent at, and qualifications obtained from,
higher education institutions, are a necessary condition for
the establishment of the European Higher Education Area.

8. The Assembly appreciates the voluntary
initiatives by the past and present ministries providing the
secretariat services to the Bologna Process. It notes with
concern that such secretariat structures depend on the
availability and resources of particular ministries which have
to serve primarily national interests, and that they become
the owner of the archives. While the informal Bologna
structure has served well during the development decade, a
reformed steering process will be needed for the creation of
the European Higher Education Area which is not led by
European Union presidencies, in which chairmanship changes
every six months, and a support process based on volunteer
host countries providing a secretariat which changes hands
every two years.

9. The Assembly welcomes the participation of
the European Commission in the Bologna Process and the
provision of large financial contributions by the European
Union, for instance under the Erasmus programme, supporting
higher education, vocational training and lifelong learning
while respecting the principle of subsidiarity and the
national powers of its member states.

10. The realisation of the European Higher
Education Area depends on higher education institutions and
students. Both students and higher education institutions must
become the driving force and owners of European standards in
higher education. The Assembly recalls in this context the
establishment of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport in
2007, which provides for a unique platform for states and
sport associations alike and aims to promote sport through
policy and standard setting, monitoring, capacity building and
the exchange of good practice. This enlarged partial agreement
can serve as an example to be followed for an effective
co-operation between states and non-governmental stakeholders
in the field of higher education and as a potential forum
supporting the European Higher Education Area.

11. All signatories to the European Cultural
Convention are represented in the Council of Europe’s Steering
Committee for Higher Education and Research by both a
governmental representative and a representative from
academia. The Assembly welcomes this dual representation,
which allows states to discuss policies, standards and action
among themselves, to decide on common positions and to ensure
their implementation at the level of national governments and
institutions. The Council of Europe Secretariat offers neutral
professional assistance to all members of the steering
committee who lead the committee work.

12. The creation of the European Higher
Education Area must take account of globalisation. Neither a
European fortress nor an ivory tower should be created.
Therefore, the Assembly believes that international
co-operation in higher education must be reinforced. Being
open to accession by non-European states, the Lisbon
Recognition Convention provides an adequate legal basis for
such wider co-operation. Non-European signatories to this
convention should also be invited to participate as observers
in the Steering Committee for Higher Education and
Research.

13. The Assembly calls on its member
parliaments to actively contribute to an open political debate
and analyse their national requirements and legislation
regarding the creation of the European Higher Education
Area.

14. The Assembly invites the European
University Association, the European Association of
Institutions in Higher Education, the European Students’
Union, the Observatory of the Magna Charta Universitatum and
other non-governmental stakeholders to study further
possibilities for their greater involvement in shaping the
European Higher Education Area. The Assembly welcomes the
organisation of a meeting with these stakeholders following up
this recommendation.

15. The Assembly recommends that the
Committee of Ministers:

15.1. launch in 2010, with their ministries
responsible for higher education and research as well as
higher education institutions, a European campaign in all
member states to promote the development of the European
Higher Education Area by 2020;

15.2. call on Greece to sign and ratify the
Lisbon Recognition Convention, call on Belgium, Italy and
Spain to ratify this convention without delay, and invite
interested non-member states to request accession to it;

15.3. analyse whether the European Social
Charter (revised) (ETS No. 163) should be amended to ensure
social rights including access to higher education for
students in their own countries and for students studying
abroad, as well as social rights for researchers, teachers and
other academic staff working abroad;

15.4. analyse whether the European Agreement
on continued Payment of Scholarships to Students Studying
Abroad (ETS No. 69) and the European Agreement on Regulations
governing the Movement of Persons between Member States of the
Council of Europe (ETS No. 25) should be amended to support
the development of the European Higher Education Area;

15.5. allocate more resources to the Council
of Europe’s higher education sector including the Steering
Committee for Higher Education and Research, in order to
provide greater support to the Bologna Process and the
creation of the European Higher Education Area;

15.6. analyse the feasibility of setting up
an enlarged partial agreement, which should be open to
membership by states, associations of higher education
institutions and student associations and have the objective
of facilitating policy and standard setting, monitoring,
capacity building and the exchange of good practice concerning
the European Higher Education Area.

16. The Assembly invites the ministries of
Austria, Hungary and Romania, which will host the future
ministerial conferences of the Bologna Process in 2010 and
2012 respectively, to:

16.1. entrust the Secretariat of the Council
of Europe with the task of storing and making available the
collective records of the Bologna Process and the European
Higher Education Area;

16.2. second temporarily national experts to
the Secretariat of the Council of Europe, in order to create
synergies with the permanent secretariat of the Steering
Committee for Higher Education and Research and other
bodies;

16.3. explore, together with the Committee of
Ministers and representatives of higher education institutions
and students, the possibility of establishing a more stable
secretariat of the European Higher Education Area at the
Council of Europe;

16.4. discuss and co-ordinate their work with
the other members of the Steering Committee for Higher
Education and Research.

1. Text adopted by the
Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on
20 November 2009 (see Doc.
11977, report of the Committee on Culture, Science and
Education, rapporteur: Mr McIntosh).

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